With so many open houses and so many choices, by the time you find a property that just has that right feeling, you’re usually tempted to grab for the pen and sign your life away. Take a minute though; because people often get so lost in the appeal of the home and property itself, they forget to consider the surrounding neighbourhood. And believe us, your new home can really lose its luster if its located say, a 30-minute drive away from the nearest grocery store or school. That’s why Canada AM hosts sat down with Real Estate Expert Sandra Rinomato, so that you can get the home you want, in the neighbourhood you want it in.

Consider your lifestyle

Whether you have pets, or are extremely active or consider yourself a foodie–these factors can all influence the areas in which you might want to live. So take a second to think about all the things that are important to you, Rinomato says. Maybe you want a short commute, or want to be in close proximity to a dog park, or restaurants and shopping centres. This should be the first thing you do after figuring out your financing and having an idea of what you can afford.

Walk score

If you don’t own a car or plan to rent the property out in the future, a solid walk score can go a long way (the higher, the better). A walk score is based on your ability to walk from the property in question to things like banks, transit, shopping centres and so forth. Rental tenants can be lured in by a high walk score, and it’s generally a plus to know that convenient services aren’t very far away.

School district

It’s really easy to move into a new home and then realize it’s nowhere near or a school, or the kind of school you wanted to enroll your children into. Fortunately, there are many resources available online that can show you what kinds of schools are in your area (Ontario’s is right here).

Emerging neighbourhoods

By the time you have everything sorted–the neighbourhood, the school, the walk score, etc.–you might realize there’s no property that checks all of your boxes. Don’t worry, that’s normal. But often, it means sacrifices have to be made and you may have to look outside of your ideal neighbourhood. If this happens, Rinomato has some advice for how to find emerging neighbourhoods, where costs are still low but will rapidly rise in the future. The best way to find these spots is to look at the periphery of areas that are already hot and popular. As the population grows in the core, development will spread to the fringes.

For more information on how to pick the right neighbourhood, check out the video above.